Minnesota Vikings: 5 Free agents to sign before training camp
3. Logan Ryan
One area of need for Minnesota heading into the offseason was at the back end of a defense that has been one of the top units in the NFL over the past few seasons. After parting ways with cornerbacks such as Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and others already this offseason, the cornerback position was spot the Vikings needed to focus on heading into the 2020 campaign and could result in some breakout performances required out of a few players.
The Vikings did their part in filling that need during the 2020 NFL Draft, when they went out and grabbed a few cornerbacks in the first few rounds of the draft in April. Most notably, Minnesota selected TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney in the draft’s opening round and later picked up Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler to add two young prospects to the defensive back group.
Even with the additions of Gladney and Dantzler, the Vikings could still look to add to the cornerback group that will be headlined by third-year cornerback Mike Hughes this season, and one name still on the open market is former Tennessee Titans cornerback Logan Ryan.
There is no doubt that Ryan could boost Minnesota’s secondary this year and perhaps beyond, but the biggest question mark will be what kind of contract he is expecting in free agency. The Vikings, after all, don’t have a ton of room to operate under the salary cap.
Ryan could be a nice addition to the purple and gold and could emerge as a nice pairing alongside Hughes on the other end of the field. Ryan, who finished up his seventh season in the NFL in 2019, will turn 30 years old in February and is still relatively young for a player with that much experience in the league.
Last season in Tennessee, Ryan appeared in all 16 regular-season contests for the Titans while playing in all three of Tennessee’s playoff games as well. During the regular season, the cornerback finished the year with a career-high 113 combined tackles, four forced fumbles and four interceptions.
The other attractive thing about Ryan outside of his experience as a professional is that he has played in the postseason six of his seven NFL season, two with Tennessee and four appearances with the New England Patriots earlier on in his career.
If Ryan ends up being an affordable player or decides to take a little less to join Minnesota in free agency, he would immediately help the back end of the Vikings defense in 2020 and beyond.